PS Plus vs Games With Gold, which is better?

It is a great time to be a gamer, with each brand bending over backwards to please its users.

Part of the way they are doing that is by expanding the value of their online memberships, PS Plus for PlayStation and Xbox Live for Xbox.

In recent months we have seen both companies strike up deals with publishers to release new games as part of their subscription services.

But, which one is actually better?

PlayStation Plus vs Games With Gold

PS Plus and Games With Gold are Sony and Microsoft's own service where they give away games to members each month.

It is worth noting that PS Plus is also the name of PlayStation's online subscription, just the free games are a bonus for being a member.

For a fee, either monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly, or yearly, players gain the ability to play online and receive up to four free games each month on both consoles.

PS Plus

PS Plus is Sony's online subscription service, giving players access to online multiplayer, as well as free games each month.

In the past, these have generally been older titles that now have very little sales so it doesn't really matter if they're given away for free.

But, in recent months we have seen Sony step things up and start offering titles on launch day to PS Plus subscribers.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout launched on PS4 as part of the service, later on, we saw Bugsnax, Worms Rumble, and Destruction Allstars come to the service on day one.

On April 6th the next set of PS Plus games will go live and will feature Oddworld: Soulstorm, another game that is launching on the service for PS5 users.

This has made PS Plus an essential service for any PlayStation user, the value is incredible.

Games With Gold

Microsoft's Games With Gold service is an extension of their Xbox Live platform, giving players four games each month as part of the subscription.

As of right now, these include two Xbox One games, one Xbox 360, and one original Xbox game.

In contrast, up until recently the only PS Plus games that were given away were PS4 games, now they do include PS5 games.

Like PS Plus, these are generally games with lower sales that the world has largely forgotten about.

But, unlike PS Plus, they have yet to step things up and start launching games on the platform, instead, that is reserved for Xbox Game Pass which seems to be Microsoft's main focus when it comes to the Xbox brand.

Sony has its own similar service to Game Pass called PS Now, but Sony seems to be competing more with Game Pass these days when it comes to their PS Plus service.

Which Is Better?

Considering Games With Gold is largely a low priority perk, with great games very rarely being added, although that is always subjective, I can say without hesitation that PS Plus is the better service.

Sony has really stepped things up by offering games at launch, PS5 titles no less.

Microsoft has also taken note and began securing games to launch on Game Pass on day one.

Outriders was added on April 1st, and MLB: The Show 21 will be launching on Game Pass, despite spending the last 15 years as a PlayStation exclusive.

Rather than trying to make Games With Gold compete with PS Plus, Microsoft has decided to make Game Pass compete with both PS Plus and PS Now.

If we were discussing PS Now vs Game Pass then, in my opinion, that crown would go to Game Pass, but that's a debate for a future article.

If you are a PlayStation owner, make sure you subscribe to PS Plus, if you are an Xbox owner, make sure you subscribe to Game Pass.

Or, subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate so you get the huge Game Pass library and the free Games With Gold.